HSBC Private Bank is dedicated to playing an active role in developing the economic, cultural and educational aspects of the local communities in which it operates.
 
The Channel Islands are home to one of world’s leading offshore financial centres - Guernsey. Lying close to the north coast of France, Guernsey is also known for its temperate climate, relaxed lifestyle and yachting but not perhaps as a centre for art and culture.  

Best known for the Angel of the North, Gormley’s distinctive work focuses on using the human form to explore man’s existence in and relation to the world. Many of his works are based on moulds taken from his own body, and take many shapes and interpretations.
 
In April, Gormley turned his gaze to Castle Cornet, the ancient harbour fortress in picturesque St Peter Port in Guernsey. The work is set to catch the attention of locals and the many visitors and yachting enthusiasts who visit the port in the summer months.
 
Strategically positioned around the castle ramparts are five stick-figure cast-iron sculptures – like sentinels against the sky. Entrapped deep inside a 14^th century gunner’s tower stands another type of figure, in lead, – solitary and reflective.
 
The location, in use as a military fortification from 1204 until the end of German occupation in 1945, provided rich inspiration to Gormley. His work for the HSBC Private Bank Commission is a meditation on liberty and incarceration; concentrated masses in an environment defined by a horizon and enclosed space.

“We want to encourage people to look again at places and people they think they know. We want to surprise and inspire them.”
 
Eldridge and Snell, both Guernsey born and bred, have been able to bring their deep understanding of the place and its people along with their international experience in their respective fields to pull the whole project together.
 
Along with the Gormley installation the island will also play host to the inaugural Art & Islands conference. The conference will bring together high profile speakers and guests from all over the world to explore different perspectives on how art, design and creative industries can stimulate aspects of the island economy. Taking inspiration from events such as Design Miami, the focus for the conference will be to debate how islands can benefit from the fusion of international and local insights brought by these events by engaging established artists and those emerging in the design and art world.
 
“As part of a strong global network and at the same time having a deep understanding of our local conditions, HSBC Private Bank Channel Islands wants to encourage the understanding of different points of view and we believe this programme has a great future on the island,” said Eldridge.



The HSBC Private Bank Commission will be at Castle Cornet until October 2008.
 
The Art and Islands Conference will be held in Guernsey at Castle Cornet from 23 to 24 September 2008.

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